Stephanie Guse

Artist Stephanie Guse, born 1971 in Bielefeld, Germany, lives and works in Vienna, Austria.

In her photographs, she questions our ability to see on a physical level, but also on a meta-level. The viewer spontaneously identifies valuable items such as designer handbags, old masterpieces, jewelery or trophies. At second glance, however, they turn out to be a collection of worthless props such as candy wrappers or plastic bags.

Consumption, status symbols and self-expression are the topics that inspire Stephanie Guse and which she equally and critically pursues.

Furthermore she considers herself to be an „artventurer” because she dedicates her work to important social issues such as pollution and environmental protection. This why she is right now starting a European project called „Men and Sea” in which scientists and artists together are experiencing the Mediterranean Sea in order to invent future concepts for sustainable living.

Guse studied Design and Fine Arts at the Hochschule für bildende Künste Braunschweig until 1998, and graduated under Prof. Heimo Zobernig at the Staatliche Hochschule für Bildende Künste in Frankfurt in 2001.

In 2015, she earned a doctorate in philosophy at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna under Prof. Marion Elias.

Stephanie Guse has shown her artistic work in numerous exhibitions at German and Austrian public art institutions and galleries in Berlin, Frankfurt, Vienna, Munich, Bremen, Leipzig, and Klagenfurt.

Furthermore, extensive publications regarding her work have been released. Her publications are often designed by herself as magazines because she considers editorial design as a perfect way to describe her complex work by pictures and texts on her inspiration, extraordinary photo technique and her relation to her models and collectors.